Med Student become Patient..

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Thyroid Gland.

Did I tell you guys how happy I get when I make the right diagnosis? I get very smug and I'll wear a smug smirk on my face for the rest of the day if I get one right.


Several months ago, I had the opportunity to self-doctor myself.
I presented with heat intolerance during the freaking winter months (and Dutch winters are generally kind of cold).
I briefly thought I had no stamina or endurance and that my body had to work harder to climb the stairs and walk to class. But my muscles had become weak as well (even weaker than before I'd started self-defense training), and my resting heart rate...
Was well over 110 beats per minute (to be clear: up to ~75 bpm would be normal for someone with my age).

All sorts of weird things shot through my mind: Google will somehow always manage to point you towards some freaky cancerous disease, and it didn't fail to hint at a tumor of the adrenal glands (pheochromocytoma). And then, there was this odd arrhythmia which also seemed like a decent explanation for the elevated heart rate.
More sane people would also think about anemia (less blood = less oxygen = fast heart rate).
And finally, I also considered a thyroid disease.
Seperated, the different symptoms I displayed weren't exactly specific for a single disease, but all of them together, they screamed 'HYPERTHYROIDISM!' at the top of their lungs.

So it turns out my thyroid gland decided it'd be an amazing idea to go into a hyperactive state. It's boosting my metabolism to insane levels.
I can eat lots of things and don't get overly fat (a lot of ladies are going to be so jealous now.. Even my crush is jealous!), and I don't get cold very often.
But I can't exercise without feeling like my thyroid is trying to kill me, and caffeinated drinks are sorts of forbidden. It's too damn hot in every room unless I'm in the anatomy lab.

Good thing is that I was very right about my hyperthyroidism. So I did remember things from last year's Endocrinology block.

TL;DR: I get very happy when I get the right diagnosis. I self-diagnosed myself with hyperthyroidism (also with the help of the family physician because I didn't have access to the lab for blood tests), but my condition is both a blessing and a curse.
Even then, I'm secretly kind of happy I got the diagnosis right.